Walk away - or walk it off?

So, just how do you encourage folks to say no to that huge, calorie-rich cheeseburger and fries for lunch and opt instead for a salad? Post the calories?

Deborah J. Botti

So, just how do you encourage folks to say no to that huge, calorie-rich cheeseburger and fries for lunch and opt instead for a salad? Post the calories?

Not according to Carnegie Mellon researchers whose study was published recently in the American Journal of Public Health. They found that including calorie information for each food item, plus the recommendations on how many calories are appropriate to consume, didn't turn people away from the superburger.

"If people are going out for fast food, nutritional information won't stop impulsive eating," she says. "These are hard times and people are stressed and hurting. ... Plus, the environment is pumped up with opportunities to eat.

"You can't even pump gas into your car without being bombarded with food cues, which contribute to people

Our primal selves have been hard-wired to eat to survive, agrees Debbie J. Hauser, nutritional counselor, personal trainer and owner of Pure Symmetry Fitness in Pine Bush. When meals are skipped, that primal hard-wiring sends the body into panic mode because starvation is perceived.

"It's natural that our body then will want to consume the most energy possible — and energy equals calories," Hauser says, pointing to that time when humans hunted and gathered their food — and never knew when that next meal was coming.

Our programming has not caught up with 21st-century life that includes supermarkets, pantries and refrigerators.

Now throw in the additives and nutritionally void, processed foods of the past few decades, which Hauser says are not recognized by the body and are addictive — making it even more difficult to turn down that rich, sweet coffee drink.

But what if an "exercise cost" was also posted — two hours of brisk walking or two hours and 35 minutes of housecleaning to burn off that indulgence? Would that change decisions?

Recent research by Texas Christian University indicates that when consumers have nutritional information plus the exercise cost, they tend to make better decisions.

Hauser and Killeen are doubtful.

"Maybe for a select few, those who are planning what they eat because they're dedicated to losing those last 10 or 15 pounds, or those who are motivated because their doctors have told them their numbers are up," says Killeen.

But for most people, the in-your-face triggers to eat — the aromas, photos of succulent meals — coupled with primal needs and stress — more often result in people consuming 40 percent more than they should, says Killeen.

"Exercise has been abused," she says. "Exercise shouldn't be a means of weight loss. It should be done to maintain muscle mass, to keep and/or increase flexibility, to allow the body to operate more easily and to increase metabolism. ... Nutrition is 90 percent of the battle. A byproduct of a healthy diet is a healthy weight."

Hauser says she has successfully worked with more than 50 people through her patented nutritional boot camp launched in December. After a detox, only clean, organic foods are consumed — in very small portions, six times a day — to fuel the body while preventing insulin spikes.

"Increasing the frequency of eating will decrease the cravings for high-calorie foods," says Killeen, who also advises her patients to eat breakfast and then three to five smaller meals throughout the day, with an eye toward creating colorful plates with a variety of fruits and vegetables.

Hauser says as a guideline, the plate should contain half vegetables, a quarter lean protein and a quarter complex carbohydrates.

"It's important to have wood in the fireplace to burn," says Killeen. Not only does this metabolic analogy explain the staving off of that panic mode with a steady source of food, but the other side of this analogy involves the age of the furnace. If it's getting older, it doesn't burn as efficiently.

"Our metabolism declines about 10 percent a decade," says Killeen.

And compound that with lifestyles that have changed dramatically.

"We don't even roll up our car windows anymore — or get up to change the TV channel," says Killeen. "We used to work the land — and now even some farmers sport bigger bellies while on their tractors. Sure, I'm glad I can toss the laundry in the washer and not have to drag it outside to scrub. ... But we're not using our bodies as much — and some people aren't even walking.

"Everyone who comes to me has an issue with weight. I encourage people to first change one food behavior at a time. Take small steps. Slow and steady does work; you didn't become 50 pounds overweight overnight," says Killeen.

Next week: Jumpstarting weight loss and creating healthy meals that actually taste good